Council offers free advice for A-level students

Free advice is on hand for borough young people who are preparing to receive their exam results.

A-level results day is tomorrow and GCSE results day is on Thursday August 24 and the council is offering help through its Aspiring Futures team.

Advisers will also be based in the two main life centres on both days if young people wish to come down and speak to them.

There will be two further events to discuss training, education or career options: at Wigan Life Centre on August 30 from 10am to 3pm and at Leigh Life Centre (now at the library) on August 31 from 9am to 1pm. They can also be contacted on Aspiring.Futures@wigan.gov.uk or 01942 828801.

Meanwhile, as A-level results are celebrated this week, many students and parents will be facing up to the reality of funding higher education. With the student intake of 2017 starting their student loans at a 6.1 per cent interest rate, many are questioning why they are paying so much in a 0.25 per cent interest rate environment, according to wealth manager Brewin Dolphin.

For those taking a full student loan to cover fees and living costs of up to £17,680 for each of their three years of study, the end bill could be around £56,060, including £3,019.85 of interest before they even hit the working world. Brewin Dolphin’s Liz Alley said: “To start adulthood with a higher education debt of a possible £56,000 will have a negative knock-on effect for a generation of graduates. Even if they don’t repay it in full, the repayments will burden graduates with a nine per cent drag on their earnings for the next 30 years.”